oh you word lovers, you. you are my people. I spent a good part of the afternoon rolling these words around my mouth. I said many out loud and spent more time with a dictionary than I'd care to admit. these are good words. these are really really good words. they deserve to be written over and over again, to be used in sentences and paragraphs and stories of all kinds. they deserve to be said out loud, to be casually interjected into conversation whenever possible, proclaimed with conviction over dinner when the lull is too much and muttered softly under breath when there's nothing else to say. thank you for sharing. thank you very much.

consider this an open call for more words. there's no end to good words. I am sure of it.

23 February 2010

I was all set to tackle the chaos in the basement this weekend, I was. boxes and labels and sharpies, ready to go. I was in the perfect frame of mind, I was ready to take it on.

and then I saw it. the weekend forecast for the oregon coast. two days of guaranteed sunshine. two days of blue skies. two. whole. days.

and so the aforementioned plans were promptly chucked. bags were hastily packed and thrown into the car and people were happy. as it turns out, the people were ready for a road trip. late saturday afternoon found us barefoot on the beach. barefoot! in the middle of february! which, of course, was worth all the meticulously organized basements in the free world. and then some.

17 February 2010

2. maroon stretch velvet pantsuit with creamy lace trim and gold threading, circa 1982. normally reserved for holidays, natch. although I remember it most as the thing I wore to the emergency room on christmas eve, thanks to the worst ear infection ever.

3. hot pink dance costume crazy with fringe and sequins, circa 1975. my mom picked it up at a yard sale for 25 cents and thirty years later, it still manages to bring the house down.

8. white jersey tee with a rainbow that stretched from sleeve to sleeve and across the chest. three quarter length sleeves, circa 1982. does anyone remember these? I want one for ava so bad I could cry.

12. red tee-shirt with john travolta on the front, circa 1978. I refused to put posters of any boy on my bedroom wall (because what's the point if he can't really love you back?) but I wore john travolta around til he was spotty and faded.

13. I Dream of Jeanie pajamas with sheer, billowy pink pants that gathered at the ankle and reddish-pink satin top (billowy sleeves to match), circa 1976. my absolute favorite thing to wear, maybe ever. I wore them until there was practically nothing left, til they nearly evaporated into thin air.

you should know, color is only the first item on a long and lovely list. modern dance, art, photography, books, films, music, my family. it's a list that makes my head spin, a list that needs more time, more space, more everything. consider color my official jumping off place and the beginning of a long conversation to be continued in fits and starts.

tomorrow, follow the parade of virtual inspiration over to a blog called good good. because with a blog title like that, you just know. it's going to be good.

04 February 2010

1. parallel parking. I am an excellent parallel parker. and when I say excellent, I mean excellent. I swear, I can practically hear an imaginary audience go wild as I reverse-swerve my honda into each impossible-looking space. I am not going to lie. I have a gift and I know it.

2. kickball. not that I play anymore but back in the day, I was the stuff of which elementary school kickball legends are made. when it was my turn to kick, the entire opposing team spread to the far corners of the field. because I was not a kicker to be messed with. unfortunately, my kickball career peaked near the end of second grade when my team won the summer tournament and I took the title of MVP. the grand prize? a dairy queen banana split, which I lovingly placed in the freezer once I'd licked the whipped cream off the top and scooped out all the hot fudge. and it sat in the freezer for three whole days (an edible testament to my rock star kickball capabilities) until finally, I was forced to throw it out. nothing left but half a frozen banana that looked as if it had been gnawed on by small animals. shortly after, I lost interest in kickball. my dreams of becoming a solid gold dancer had just taken hold and clearly, I'd gone as far as I could with the whole kickball thing.

3. gift wrapping. I have been told that my great grandmother was seriously skilled in this particular area, that her gifts were exquisitely wrapped with fancy flocked papers and complicated bows. I have been told I take after her. I don't know about the exquisite part but I do like to make a package look pretty, I do. I love the smell of scotch tape, the way scissors quietly glide through wide stretches of paper. I love the choosing of patterns and colors and papers and ribbon and string. I love me a handmade tag. and I'll never say no to a pile of presents that need to be wrapped. not ever. I can't help myself.

4. spelling. I was the girl who won all the spelling bees in school. now, I am the go-to girl in the house when a spelling crisis arises. if I close my eyes, I can see the word. and it is almost always perfectly spelled. am secretly convinced that this is my superpower in life and would not say no to a special cape. should a special super speller cape ever be presented to me.

5. birthday parties. when I was seven, I ordered a book from the school book fair called 'popular party games'. I read it from cover to cover (again and again) until I had every game in the book memorized. and then I began to plan imaginary birthday parties with a wild variety of themes. no surprise then, that I can throw down when it comes to birthday parties. I am the mother that throws the curve off for all the other mothers. though I swear, that is not my intention. I do it because I love it, because my kids love it. because I am a sucker for crepe paper and lanterns, for party hats and horns. I think the assembly of the goody bag is a lost art. I go crazy over cakes. I've baked them in all shapes and sizes-- race cars, mermaids, robots, legos. more importantly, I've lived to tell about it. I take great care with details and take great pride in the fact that I spend little money. and more than a few times, I've been asked, would I ever consider doing this professionally? why, yes I would but what would be the fun in that? it's only fun now because the parties I throw are for the people I love most in life. I go all out because I can. but also because I know there will come a time when I will not be allowed to plan and scheme and throw these very special birthday parties. in fact, there may come a time when I will not be allowed within fifty feet of the party. but I try very hard not to think about that. I try very very hard.

02 February 2010

he does good work, that brother of mine. I'm so proud I could cry. and I did, actually. in the middle of the stupid coffee shop the other day when I first watched this. while people were eating their eggs and drinking their coffee and tap tap tapping away on their computers. you should know, I do not cry easily.

it's a love letter to color and light and I can't stop watching it. and I'm thankful that my kids are growing up with this kind of hip hop. I'm thankful when words and music and pictures come together like this, I'm so very thankful.

01 February 2010

each time I sit down to write about my sweet friend myriam and how the earthquake in haiti has devastated her family, I hit a wall. because it's beyond comprehension, this thing that has happened. it's tragedy redefined in new and unfathomable ways. there really aren't words. which is why I struggle with the writing, I suppose.

but myriam tells her story in a way that gently cuts a swath through the hopelessness. her words are clear, unfaltering. and more importantly, full of hope. myriam's goal is to raise 30,000 dollars, all of which she plans to hand deliver to our brothers and sisters in haiti, all of which will go towards the most basic needs. better yet, the entire process will be documented.

you can read her story here and should you feel moved to do so, you can give. there's a chip-in button right on site and even if it's just a dollar or two, it will help. every little bit will help.